Bali Immigration Issues Important Updates For Tourist Visa Holders

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Bali Immigration is working around the clock to crack down on foreigners breaking immigration law. Bali welcomes more than 7 million international tourists each year, and while the vast majority of visits honor the laws of the land, an increasing number of individuals are being caught breaking immigration law in big and seemingly small ways. 

To help clear up any claims of a grey area, the Indonesian Immigration has issued updates on ‘unpaid activity’ that foreigners may engage in during their time in the country. Unpaid activities can include skills exchanges such as hairstyling for a wedding, teaching yoga in exchange for a free place on a retreat, a language exchange, or music and DJing.

This is a particularly important clarification for those planning on engaging in influencer and content creation projects, both as individuals, in unpaid collaborations, and formal paid partnerships.

At first glance, visitors to Indonesia may think that these are simple volunteering or free skills exchanges that have nothing to do with immigration status, but nothing could be further from the truth. In the eyes of the Indonesian Immigration, these activities could violate the conditions of an individual’s visa stay permit. 

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The key thing visitors to Bali need to be aware of is the purpose of the visit and whether the unpaid activity has any economic value.

If the unpaid activities do not align with the purpose of the visit stipulated on the visa or stay permit, this is considered an immigration violation. Indonesian Immigration explains, “Is unpaid activity always allowed?” The answer to which is “Not always. Immigration authorities may look at the purpose of stay, the type of activity, and whether there is economic value behind it.”

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Indonesian Immigration continues to answer the question, “What activities may raise concern?” The team has specifically highlighted four increasingly common situations. These are “professional services like makeup artists or photographers. Commercial promotion, such as endorsing products or services. Content creation for business, like creating social media content with promotion. Work-like activities that involve benefits, even if unpaid.”

Indonesian Immigration clarifies, “Indonesian immigration law mandates that foreign nationals use their visa and stay permit in accordance with the intended purpose. Activities inconsistent with the granted visa may result in sanctions.”

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For further clarification, the Indonesian Immigration has shared a case study.

The team explained “Case Study: Free Makeup for Social Media. A foreign national enters Indonesia on a visit visa and provides free makeup services for social media content. The content is later used for portfolio or promotional purposes. Even without direct payment, it may be deemed to have economic value.”

Indonesia Immigration adds, “Compliance is key. Unpaid activities do not automatically qualify as permissible. If there is work, service, promotion, or economic benefit involved, the activity must align with the visa and stay permit used.”

To put it another way, if work, service, promotion, or economic benefit is involved, for either party in the exchange, a visit visa (including tourist and socio-cultural visas) is not the appropriate visa for the individual.

If a foreigner wants to enter Bali for activities that involve work, service, promotion, or economic benefit, it is important to opt for the correct visa; this could be a work permit, investment visa, business visa, volunteer visa, or artists and performers visa.

All of these cover leisure, travel, and recreation as included activities. The difference is that tourism and socio-cultural visas do not permit activities that involve work, service, promotion, or economic benefit.

The Indonesian Immigration website makes it incredibly easy for foreigners to understand which visa is most appropriate for their visit.

The Official Indonesia eVisa website narrows down the visa options for applicants, starting with the main purpose of their visit, followed by the sub-purpose of the visit. The site also has a live chat option where applicants can connect with an Immigration officer who can issue advice on their specific situation.